Preparation:

We make this deliciously spicy soup in a large soup pot on our stove top. The total preparation and cooking time is about 2 hours, if the chick peas are pre-cooked. The soup is enough to serve 8-10 people as a main meal with a salad, or twice as many people as a side dish or appetizer. The curried cabbage and sweet potato soup is also great as a leftover, and can be stored in the covered cooking pot in the refrigerator for a few days. If you want to make a smaller pot of soup, cut the recipe in half.

We usually begin to cook the chick peas before breakfast so that they are cooked when we finish making the soup. Clean and wash the chick peas and place them in a covered cooking pot with 5 cups of water, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer, cover and continue cooking until the chick peas are tender. Add additional water if necessary.

Place a large soup pot on the stove top with two quarts of water and heat on high simmer. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings, and mix well.

While the water and tomatoes are heating, clean and wash the cabbage and peel the carrots and onions, and finely shred them in a food processor. Add to the soup pot, mix well, and continue cooking.

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, slice and cut into small bite-size cubes, add to the soup pot, mix well, and continue simmering until the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium low simmer, and cover the pot. Mix occasionally to prevent any sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add a cup or two of boiling water if you want the soup to have a thinner consistency, and mix into the soup.

When the veggies are tender, add the raisins and cooked chick peas, mix well, and continue simmering for a few more minutes, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the soup flavors blend together for another 15-30 minutes before serving.

Serve and enjoy. It goes great with a large tossed salad.

The above vegan recipe is in keeping with God’s creation intent (Genesis 1:29-31): ‘Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.’ (NIV) Let no animal suffer or die that we may live